1. General Introduction

Said to be the burial place of 20,000 saints, "Bardsey Island (Ynys Enlli) lies across the Sound about two miles (about 3km) off the tip of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales. It is 1.5 miles (2.5km) in length and, at its widest point, it is just over half a mile (1km) across. The mountain, Mynydd Enlli, rises to a height of 167m. It covers an area of 180 hectares, most of which is farmed. The island was bought by the Bardsey Island Trust in 1979. It is managed by the Trust in conjunction with the Countryside Council for Wales and CADW. Bardsey is a National Nature Reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of the Llyn Environmentally Sensitive Area." (Information from website of Bardsey Island Trust, 2005). Bardsey Island is situated approximately 3km southwest of the tip of the Llyn Peninsula, separated from the mainland by Bardsey Sound. The island has been owned and maintained by the Bardsey Trust since 1979 with advice from CADW and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) regarding the Island's status as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the various scheduled ancient monuments and buildings on the island. Bardsey Island is a study site within the EU-funded CHERISH Project 2017-2021.

3. Summary of CHERISH Project survey and research 2017-2023

Introduction

Ynys Enlli or Bardsey Island is situated approximately 3km southwest of the tip of the Llyn Peninsula, separated from the mainland by Bardsey Sound. During the Medieval period the island was an important place of pilgrimage with three pilgrimages to Bardsey being viewed as the equivalent as one to Rome. Medieval archaeological and structural remains can be viewed all across the island with the ruined thirteenth century St Mary’s abbey being the most impressive. Visible archaeological remains scattered across the island also indicate human occupation likely extending back earlier than the medieval period. The island has been owned and maintained by the Bardsey Trust since 1979 and is also listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as well as being home to several scheduled ancient monuments and buildings.

Mapping the Island’s Archaeology

Work conducted by the EU-funded CHERISH Project (2017-2023), by the Royal Commission and the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, built upon the important work conducted by Gwynedd Archaeological Trust in their 2014-15 management plan.

The CHERISH Project used Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) or LiDAR and UAV/drone surveys to map all visible archaeological monuments on the island in order to improve and expand upon the existing monument records for the island (Hunt et al. 2019). Historical aerial photography has also been used to compliment these techniques by providing information on archaeological cropmarks. The main objective for the CHERISH Project on Bardsey Island was to enhance existing datasets relating to the island’s archaeology and coastal erosion.

In February 2017, Bluesky, a company specialising in the acquisition of aerial survey data, was commissioned by the CHERISH Project to collect 0.25m 'leaves-off' (winter conditions with low vegetation and bare trees) LiDAR (airborne laser scanning) data of six Welsh islands at low tide. This included a new survey of Bardsey, allowing its archaeology to be analysed and mapped to a high degree of accuracy. Bluesky flew from its East Midlands base and collected the data using its Teledyne Optech Galaxy LiDAR system on 24 February. The processed data is archived with the Royal Commission (Driver and Hunt 2018).

Through the use of ALS and UAV survey CHERISH has been able to supplement existing surveys by providing highly accurate and precise positions for the archaeology and eroding coastal edges. 3D data collected for the island (specifically the eroding isthmus) will be used to model the impacts of future coastal erosion of the island and its heritage sites.

The eroding section at Henllwyn has also been hand drawn to accurately record eroding archaeological features (Barker et al. 2019). This work is important as previous geophysical surveys by the Gwynedd Archaeological Trust show this part of the island to contain a density of buried archaeological remains that could relate to a prehistoric cemetery. Several fragments of animal bone have also been extracted from the section. These have been radiocarbon dated to 778-916 AD, possibly related to early farming on the island.

A major synthesis of the CHERISH Project work on Enlli/Bardsey was published by Kirsty Ackland in 2023 using LiDAR and other survey datasets to assess the impacts of coastal erosion on the heritage assets of this important island (Ackland et al. 2023). The paper is available to read on Open Access.

References:

Ackland, K., Griffiths, H., Barker, L., Davies, S., Driver, T., & Hunt, D. (2023). Mapping the impacts of coastal erosion on the heritage assets of Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island), North Wales, UK. The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 19 (4), 786–813. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2023.2227944

Barker, L., Driver, T. and Hunt, D. 2019. Bardsey Island, Henllwyn Eroding Isthmus (SH 1151 2109). Archaeology in Wales 59, 119-122

Driver, T. and Hunt, D. 2018. The White Ribbon Zone. RICS Land Journal. February/March 2018. pp. 22-3

Hunt, D., Barker, L., and Driver, T. 2019. CHERISH Project Lidar Capture and Analysis for the Islands of Wales. Archaeology in Wales 59, 91-96.

Kenney, J and Hopewell, D. 2016. Ynys Enlli Heritage Management Plan. Gwynedd Archaeological Trust, Report No. 1304. Unpublished.

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